Holiday Inn Express & Suites Monterrey Valle by IHG — Hotel in Nuevo León

I've stayed at this hotel multiple times and have always been extremely satisfied to the point where I recommend it to others. Nonetheless, my last stay at this hotel was not up to IHG standards whatsoever. My primary reason for being in Monterrey was for a conference, but I had plans to meet up and visit with friends after my conference was over. Check-in was quick and courteous, and I was given my water bottle upon check-in for being an IHG member. The person at front desk was attentive and efficient, and I regret not getting his name as he was one of two employees that have me giving this hotel a second chance. When I got to my room I noticed that there wasn't the usual water bottle for the coffee maker, but I didn't make anything of it considering I had been given a water bottle already. I asked if the hotel van could take me nearby, and the only helpful person was the same man who had helped with check-in. He ended up taking me to my meeting, just a few blocks away in the hotel van. Later that night as I returned to my room and got in bed, I noticed that three of my four pillows had an unpleasant odor to them. The linens smelled as if they had been left in the washer too long and put in the dryer after being left to dry in a clump of humidity. No big deal, I had one pillow that didn't smell and the other three were left aside. The next morning after I finished showering, I found out in a very unfortunate manner that the water had flooded the room all the way into the carpet. The floor was wet and flooded with soapy water and I was barefoot. Since I don't have 20/20 vision unless I am wearing my glasses, I never noticed that the shower drain was clogged because the water level never rose. It simply trickled under the shower door, into the bathroom, outside the bathroom in the sink/closet area, and onto the bedroom rug. STILL deciding not to make a big fuss despite my slipping on the floor, I promptly got ready, hung BOTH signs on the bathroom door as instructed requesting my bed sheets and sopping wet towels replaced, and went downstairs to notify hotel personnel of the shower issue. On my way out, I ran into my floor's housekeeper and informed her of the issue. Nonetheless, I still went to the front desk to report my issue in room 614. The man at the front desk told me that the shower was probably not clogged, that I just needed to adjust the drain (huh?). I told him that perhaps I was wrong, but to please send maintenance as I was sure that water collecting over an open drain and having trouble going down the drain after the water is off is usually a sign of a clogged drain. He said he would make a report and send maintenance to my room. This was around 8:45 AM. I came back to my room at 11 PM to find that my sheets had not been changed (evident as I still had three smelly pillows on my bed) as requested verbally to the housekeeper and on the bathroom door. In fact, both signs were STILL hanging from the bathroom door handle upon my return completely ignored. The next morning as I showered, I learned that the shower drain was STILL clogged so I used all of the towels in my room to build a levee and prevent another incident of me slipping on the floor. I left in a hurry for my conference and came back around midnight. This time upon my return I found that I had not been given any hand towels and housekeeping did not leave any shampoo for my use. Instead, I was given three bottles of body lotion and left without shampoo. My bed sheets were still not changed and the shower had not been fixed. However, I was left with two complimentary bottles of water in my room, one of which was NOT sealed and NOT full. I called front desk that night and calmly and rationally explained my frustration. The man at front desk who took my call apologized for the situation and offered to send new linens to my room in that moment and arrange to move me into a new room the next day. I thanked him and explained my decision to stay in that room for the night as it was late, I was tired after a full day of conference, and needed to be up early the next day. He let me know he would be leaving a note in the system requesting a new room and detailing my frustrations. Lo and behold, I left my hotel room the next morning and on my last day in Monterrey I returned to the hotel in the early afternoon after my conference was over. The same man who had handled my check-in and taken me in the hotel van on the first day, was working the front desk. It seemed that he couldn't find the note that was supposedly left the night before, and neither could the lady working front desk (I asked for her name, as she has been extremely helpful in my past stays and I hope she can be recognized for doing a great job). Nonetheless, they promptly moved me to an equal room on a different floor for my last night and apologized for the situation. I'm going to give this property the benefit of the doubt and consider that they might have been understaffed or turnover has been high in recent weeks. I've been in similar situations in my line of work and these things DO happen, especially in seasons of high turnover or when there is a lack of communication and cooperation among teams (usually caused by poor and unrealistic management). However, there is no excuse for not training employees on company standards. I mainly stay at this hotel for its convenient location to my business affairs, because it is new, and because it usually provides what I need: a quiet, clean, and safe environment to rest and work. I will be going back one more time, especially because there were two dedicated employees that truly cared, took their time to listen, AND immediately resolved my situation. I certainly hope this property improves to represent brand standards.

As a side note, hotel parking is terrifying. You have to drive down into a basement that is totally isolated from any other area of the parking garage. It reeks of humidity and sewage. The scene looks like something out of a horror movie....

I've stayed at this hotel multiple times and have always been extremely satisfied to the point where I recommend it to others. Nonetheless, my last stay at this hotel was not up to IHG standards whatsoever. My primary reason for being in Monterrey was for a conference, but I had plans to meet up and visit with friends after my conference was over. Check-in was quick and courteous, and I was given my water bottle upon check-in for being an IHG member. The person at front desk was attentive and efficient, and I regret not getting his name as he was one of two employees that have me giving this hotel a second chance. When I got to my room I noticed that there wasn't the usual water bottle for the coffee maker, but I didn't make anything of it considering I had been given a water bottle already. I asked if the hotel van could take me nearby, and the only helpful person was the same man who had helped with check-in. He ended up taking me to my meeting, just a few blocks away in the hotel van. Later that night as I returned to my room and got in bed, I noticed that three of my four pillows had an unpleasant odor to them. The linens smelled as if they had been left in the washer too long and put in the dryer after being left to dry in a clump of humidity. No big deal, I had one pillow that didn't smell and the other three were left aside. The next morning after I finished showering, I walked out to the surprise that the water had flooded the room all the way into the carpet. I learned this by slipping and falling on the floor on my way out of the bathroom. Since I don't have 20/20 vision unless I am wearing my glasses, I never noticed that the shower drain was clogged because the water level never rose. It simply trickled under the shower door, into the bathroom, outside the bathroom in the sink/closet area, and onto the bedroom rug. STILL deciding not to make a big fuss despite my slipping on the floor, I promptly got ready, hung BOTH signs on the bathroom door as instructed requesting my bed sheets and sopping wet towels replaced, and went downstairs to notify hotel personnel of the shower issue. On my way out, I ran into my floor's housekeeper and informed her of the issue. Nonetheless, I still went to the front desk to report my issue in room 614. The man at the front desk told me that the shower was probably not clogged, that I just needed to adjust the drain (huh?). I told him that perhaps I was wrong, but to please send maintenance as I was sure that water collecting over an open drain and having trouble going down the drain after the water is off is usually a sign of a clogged drain. He said he would make a report and send maintenance to my room. This was around 8:45 AM. I came back to my room at 11 PM to find that my sheets had not been changed (evident as I still had three smelly pillows on my bed) as requested verbally to the housekeeper and on the bathroom door. In fact, both signs were STILL hanging from the bathroom door handle upon my return completely ignored. The next morning as I showered, I learned that the shower drain was STILL clogged so I used all of the towels in my room to build a levee and prevent another incident of me slipping on the floor. I left in a hurry for my conference and came back around midnight. This time upon my return I found that I had not been given any hand towels and housekeeping did not leave any shampoo for my use. Instead, I was given three bottles of body lotion and left without shampoo. My bed sheets were still not changed and the shower had not been fixed. However, I was left with two complimentary bottles of water in my room, one of which was NOT sealed and NOT full. I called front desk that night and calmly and rationally explained my frustration. The man at front desk who took my call apologized for the situation and offered to send new linens to my room in that moment and arrange to move me into a new room the next day. I thanked him and explained my decision to stay in that room for the night as it was late, I was tired after a full day of conference, and needed to be up early the next day. He let me know he would be leaving a note in the system requesting a new room and detailing my frustrations. Lo and behold, I left my hotel room the next morning and on my last day in Monterrey I returned to the hotel in the early afternoon after my conference was over. The same man who had handled my check-in and taken me in the hotel van on the first day, was working the front desk. It seemed that he couldn't find the note that was supposedly left the night before, and neither could the lady working front desk (I asked for her name, as she has been extremely helpful in my past stays and I hope she can be recognized for doing a great job). Nonetheless, they promptly moved me to an equal room on a different floor for my last night and apologized for the situation. I'm going to give this property the benefit of the doubt and consider that they might have been understaffed or turnover has been high in recent weeks. I've been in similar situations in my line of work and these things DO happen, especially in seasons of high turnover or when there is a lack of communication and cooperation among teams (usually caused by poor and unrealistic management). However, there is no excuse for not training employees on company standards. I mainly stay at this hotel for its convenient location to my business affairs, because it is new, and because it usually provides what I need: a quiet, clean, and safe environment to rest and work. I will be going back one more time, especially because there were two dedicated employees that truly cared, took their time to listen, AND immediately resolved my situation. I certainly hope this property improves to represent...

I stayed at this hotel for a week, and unfortunately, it was a very disappointing experience. From the start, it felt like the staff selectively chose who to correct or assist, which gave off a discriminatory vibe. Basic services that should be standard in any hotel stay were either inconsistent or nonexistent unless you repeatedly asked for them.

Housekeeping is not done daily unless you specifically request it — and even then, they often don’t show up. Towels are not refilled unless you ask every single time. When the cleaning staff finally came, they didn’t even change the bed sheets — they just made the beds and left everything else half-done. Everything felt rushed and careless. Even after bringing up these issues, staff responded with polite apologies but continued delivering the same disappointing service.

They also don’t allow you to take breakfast to your room, and any transportation service comes with a high fee that’s charged to your room immediately. We were told we would get cleaning service, and it never happened unless we followed up multiple times. It made me feel like a bother just for asking for what should already be included in the stay. For the price paid, this is unacceptable.

The TV barely worked — the remote was unreliable, and there was no access to apps like YouTube or Netflix. The internet connection was unstable throughout our stay. We had requested a room with a view of the Sierra de la Silla, but we were placed on the opposite side of the building and only caught a glimpse of the edge of the mountain.

The in-room hot water didn’t work properly, so making coffee or tea was not an option. There’s no self-service machine in the lobby unless you ask for it. Even doing laundry felt like a scam — a single pod of detergent cost $1 USD, while a whole bottle at HEB costs only $2 USD.

Overall, this hotel felt like a waste of time and money. I didn’t feel comfortable during my entire stay, and I would’ve rather spent the money on an Airbnb where I could actually relax. I won’t be coming back, and I definitely wouldn’t recommend...